January 25, 2007

SCHOOL SCENEin Almaden Valley

State Superintendent Jack O’Connell addresses local education and business leaders

By Ali Abdollahi
Staff Writer

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell spoke to leaders in South Bay business and education at the first San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce “Morning Buzz” event of 2007, hosted on the Adobe campus in downtown San Jose this week.

California Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell (seated, right) spoke to leaders in South Bay business and education at the first San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce “Morning Buzz” event of 2007. Seated to his left is Pat Dando.

O’Connell discussed a host of issues and challenges facing public educators in California and answered questions from local education administrators. There were several Bay Area district superintendents in attendance, as well as many members of the Chamber’s education committee.

Challenges
O’Connell outlined several challenges facing the state’s educational system. He explained that in the hyper-competitive global economy in which Silicon Valley is at the forefront, there is a race to educate students to keep up with emerging nations. “Other countries have the ability to make products cheaper,” said O’Connell. “California has to be able to make better products in order to remain competitive.”

The diversity of California, often celebrated, brings with it unique challenges for state educators. According to O’Connell, 39 percent of California students come to kindergarten still in need of basic English language skills.
Another concern for many at the event was students who earn high school diplomas without receiving adequate educations. O’Connell said that was the main factor that led him to write the legislation for the state high school exit exam while he was a California state senator.

He also mentioned President Bush’s “No Child Left Behind Policy, ” which has been highly criticized by public educators for its short-sighted policies and emphasis on rhetoric. “The NCLB never came up with ways to adequately fund its proposals,” O’Connell said. “It also never created tools of measurement to support its goals.”

Public education in California also faces issues related to the aging of the Baby Boom generation. Out of the 300,000 public school teachers currently employed in California, one-third of them are expected to retire in the next 10 years. In addition, 40 percent of public school district administrators are also expected to retire in the same span. Said O’Connell, “What we need to do to resolve this issue is to create pathways into teaching.”

O’Connell mentioned programs such as the one in San Jose that provides special interests rates to public school teachers who are purchasing their first home as the type of incentives needed to attract more young professionals into teaching.

Opportunities
Much of O’Connell’s comments focused on the positive elements of what California seeks to accomplish through education. He laid out what he called “the new three ‘R’s:’ rigor, relevance and relationships.”

The emphasis on “rigor” and “relevance” encouraged relatively intense curriculum, and a focus on ensuring that the curriculum prepared the students for the job market.

“We’re seeking to create a culture change at some schools,” said O’Connell. “For example, one school I visited used the names of colleges instead of room numbers. So instead of saying, ‘I’m going to room 4,’ students would say, ‘I am going to Harvard or Yale.’ And they referred to the kids as scholars instead of students. That creates a new attitude and culture.”

The relationship portion of O’Connell’s goals referred not only to K-12 institutions forming relationships with community colleges, UCs and CSUs, but also with California businesses. He encouraged businesses to sponsor schools, scholarships and mentor programs, and said that improving the education for Californians would help businesses in the future. Addressing the business leaders in attendance, O’Connell said, “You need us and we need you.”

Stanford ‘adequacy’ report
The discussion also covered a yearlong adequacy study conducted by Stanford University economist Susanna Loeb, which has the potential to cause significant changes in the financing and governing of K-12 education in California.

The study estimates that the achievement gap that exists in California public schools has caused an estimated $2.5 trillion in lost production. “Bridging that achievement gap is a moral imperative,” said O’Connell, “not just an economic imperative.”

O’Connell hopes that the upcoming release of the Stanford study will engage the public to get more involved in public education. “Gov. (Arnold) Schwarzenegger and I are putting a lot of stock into this study,” said O’Connell.

E-waste collection event this Saturday benefits Pioneer High School

The Pioneer High School Education Foundation hosts an e-waste collection event on Saturday, Jan. 27 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Pioneer High School, 1290 Blossom Hill Road San Jose, CA 95118 in the school parking lot.

Donate, recycle and support the school. Your E-Waste supports the Pioneer High School Education Foundation. Proceeds from the event benefit students and teachers of Pioneer High School. Just drive in, drop off and we unload for you.

Accepted items: computers, mice/keyboards, stereos/radio, laptop printers, telephones/cell phones, monitors, ink cartridges, TVs, speakers, fax machines, DVD/VCR players, receivers, calculators and cameras.

Visit www.pioneerhigh.org or e-mail Pioneer_Foundation@yahoo.com for more information.

Seeking School News

Do you have a school event to promote? Know of a student who has done something amazing or a teacher who has gone above and beyond what is expected of them? We’d like to hear about it. Drop us a line at newsroom@timesmediainc.com or send us a fax at (408) 494-7078.